Extract from letter to Colin Hansen from Southlands PAC. The bulk of the letter is a follow-up to Colin Hansen’s visit with the PAC. The section quoted is only that dealing with the one time funding.
“Since our meeting, we do note that the Minister is honouring her commitment to keep the school strike savings in the education system. We certainly agree this is where the funds belong but have, frankly, scrambled to meet the requirement for consultation among parents and others within the confines of an extremely tight deadline.
This type of “parachute” funding is an example of a critical flaw that seems to have become routine for public education in British Columbia. [emphasis added] A series of special funding “announcements” does not reflect our stated concern that it is difficult, if not impossible, to conceive and implement long-term plans and goals without, on balance, long-term, stable funding. One-time grants and “saved” funds may ease certain deficiencies in classrooms but do little to eradicate the systemic problems leading to these deficiencies. After years of eroded services and resources, combined with higher costs, many children’s needs are still unable to be met.
Please reiterate to the Minister that we need the Government and Ministry staff to allocate, on a long-term basis, adequate, sustainable and proactive funding because we know funding reactively does not serve our children well. While all of us are committed to investing in the future of British Columbia, we will not be making good decisions if we see public education, and our children, as short-term expenditures.
We look forward to seeing a willingness on the part of Government to make this investment, at which point we will happily assure concerned parents that their stated commitment to a quality public education system is well founded and their tax dollars are well spent.”